Grade 6-8

Secondary Science Coordinator

Email: jnord5257@columbus.k12.oh.us
Website: http://www.ccsoh.us/Science.aspx
Location: Mifflin Middle School, 3000 Agler Road, Columbus, OH, USA
Phone: 614-932-0045
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ColumbusCitySchools/

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Come join us June 11-13th at Africentric Early College. We will be focusing on how students want to learn. Reimagine your classroom when you teach the standards at high levels through different means such as discipline literacy, blended learning, and personalization. There will be science offerings as well as general sessions. Earn up to $135 stipend per day! Check with your principal to sign up for your school's group of 10.

Not in the group of 10? Good news! We have opened up the first two days, June 11 and 12, for any teachers! (We cannot exceed attendance of 800.) Sign up with your principal if you are interested. He/she will enter your attendance in CiMS.

Interested in presenting? More good news! We are looking for presenters for 50 minute sessions for Tuesday, June 12th. Please submit your topic, by May 4th, through this link if you are interested:

https://goo.gl/forms/AwIrX69h467uVlZT2

Take a few days out of this summer to take part in the 2018 Project-Based Learning Ohio Institute, July 24-27 on the New Albany-Plain Local Schools campus near Columbus. The institute is an internationally attended academy that gives educators a chance to learn and create new ways of educating and engaging students to get them ready for college and careers. Among other things, participants will learn the basics of project-based learning, fine-tune their project-based learning practices, acquire skills to support teachers in implementing processes and design strategies to implement project-based learning in their districts and schools.

http://education.ohio.gov/Media/Ed-Connection/Feb-12-2018/Join-the-Project-Based-Learning-Ohio-Institute-thi

In the March Newsletter, we introduced science literacy. In the April Newsletter, we examined UDL. This month, we are looking at Close Reading. Close reading is thoughtful, critical analysis of a text that focuses on significant details or patterns in order to develop a deep, precise understanding of the text's form, craft, meanings, etc. Close, analytic reading stresses engaging with a text of sufficient complexity directly and examining meaning thoroughly and methodically, encouraging students to read and reread deliberately. Directing student attention on the text itself empowers students to understand the central ideas and key supporting details. Here are some resources to assist you:

How to do Close Reading: https://writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu/pages/how-do-close-reading

https://nieonline.com/tbtimes/downloads/CCSS_reading.pdf

Close Reading strategies: https://www.weareteachers.com/strategies-for-close-reading/

Grade/course examples of close reading with text-dependent questions: https://bpsscience.weebly.com/science-and-literacy-close-reading-cwa--more.html

Video demonstrating close reading in a HS science classroom: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQc1q3qq7wU

If you did not sign up for Content Experts, inquire if someone at your school did and get useful information from them to assist you with your science instruction. All PowerPoints will be posted in your middle school Google folder if you would like to see what we are discussing and experiencing.

January: Intro, class roles, procedures, how to complete a lab/activity in 45 minutes, inquiry activities, Problem-Based Learning

February: Informal formative assessments, density labs, 5E's of Science Inquiry

March: Differentiation, energy labs, 5E's of Science Iquiry

April: standards

May: Claims, Evidence, and Reasoning

We have given out some great resources to the participating teachers. Check with them and see if you can use any of them!

We are getting close to summer. Make sure that you SAFELY secure all your science equipment/chemicals for the summer. Check to make sure all containers are intact. Over the summer, as you begin planning for next year, be sure that laboratory safety is a topic that you teach and reinforce. To assist you, please see the link below from the United Federation of Teachers with recommendations. Also attached, please see the Laboratory Safety Guidelines.

http://www.uft.org/chapters/lab-specialists/lab-safety-rules-for-students

Gizmos are a great way to incorporate blended learning. There are many kudos to go around this quarter. Overall, most schools increased their Gizmo usage this year by 2-3 times...wow!!! Our schools with the most student usage this quarter were:

AIMS

Prep for Boys

Gifted Academy

Global Academy

Dominion MS

Johnson Park MS

Ridgeview MS

South

Wedgewood MS

Westmoor MS

Woodward Park MS

Congratulations!

Here are the teachers who used Gizmos the most this year in their classrooms. Thank you for your outstanding dedication and commitment to improving teaching with Gizmos!

Kelly Mitchell.............................. Arts Impact Middle School

Tripti Argarwal........................... Columbus Global Academy

Jamie Brown............................... Westmoor Middle School

Joan Huey................................... Arts Impact Middle School

Matthew Good.......................... Lindbergh Elementary School

Stacy Piper................................. Dominion Middle School

Lynette Washington................. Johnson Park Middle School

Margaret Graham.................... Sherwood Middle School

Andrew Jenkins........................ Champion Middle School

Vincent Tubuo.......................... Columbus N International Sch

Elizabeth Miller........................ South High School

Kelly McAllister........................ Woodward Park Middle School

Sheila Ruggles......................... Wedgewood Middle School

Gary Leidheiser....................... Hilltonia Middle School

Janelle Stauffer........................ Hubbard Mastery School

Need a brochure to hand to your parents about what's happening in our science department? Want some resources to give your parents to keep the science learning going during summer? Please download and print the following:

Free Workshop for STEM Teachers

Enhance your professional development with this no-cost workshop introducing new tools to engage students in math and science. Learn how to engage your students using simple, low-cost experiments that you can integrate into your existing lesson plans. Help your students discover career opportunities in science and engineering.

What's in it for you? 4 CEUs, demonstration materials, meals; 2 graduate level credits are available through the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Questions: asmmaterialscampteacher@asminternational.org

440-338-5151 X5533

Apply: http://bit.ly/2HMLirm

Access the link below to see what took place at NSTA this year. In the middle of the article, in a yellow box, there are some classroom resources and science lessons worth checking out. Near the bottom, you will find some good reads.

https://contentsharing.net/actions/email_web_version.cfm?ep=K-wSjnLAAdfph4nOCExN0F8wnYYtvwftvljuZKjiFqiI6bl2B7Zce7XUW6salZH5hkADcbxojobtg2jx-XcsjdwyMFuzLqHFDuNhwV6YTD2aFMNptwCUgpQDSP0E9nRu

17,000 Classroom Visits Can’t Be Wrong: Strategies That Engage Students, Promote Active Learning, and Boost Achievement

Most educators are skilled at planning instruction and determining what they will do during the course of a lesson. However, to truly engage students in worthwhile, rigorous cognition, a profound shift is necessary: a shift in emphasis from teaching to learning. Put another way, we know that whoever is doing the work is also doing the learning—and in most classrooms, teachers are working much too hard.

http://www.ascd.org/Publications/Books/Overview/Seventeen-Thousand-Classroom-Visits-Cant-Be-Wrong.aspx

Check out this link to Spruce Run. The May 19th family program will be History Alive: A Walk through the Civil War Era. There will be re-enactment historians, history of the Civil War and Underground Railroad, a Civil War museum, and crafts and quilting. This is a great way to spend some family time.

https://www.smore.com/n027v-spruce-run-environmental-center

Monday, August 6, 8:30 am to 4 pm Visit The Henry Ford and learn about farming in the past and in the present. This PD workshop for elementary through high school teachers will give you a historical perspective AND hands-on activities for your classroom. Hear about farming through American history, tour an 1885 farm and a soybean products lab. Learn how to access The Henry Ford’s vast digital archives for classroom use. Participate in STEM and GMO activities and create bio based products. You’ll get a pass to tour the Village grounds after the workshop is over.

Topics include:

• Innovative thinking
• Historical farming (with connections to social studies standards)
• Genetics
• Technological improvements in ag
• Uses of soybeans

Lunch and one night’s shared hotel room provided. Each participant will receive supplies and lesson plans for classroom use.

MI Social Studies standards addressed:

High School U.S. History: Describe the major trends and transformations in American life prior to 1877

Grades K-2: D2.His.2.K-2. Compare life in the past to life today.

Grades 3-5: D2.His.2.3-5. Compare life in specific historical time periods to life today.

Grades 6-8: D2.His.2.6-8. Classify series of historical events and developments as examples of change and/or continuity.

Science NGSS: MS-LS 4-5 Unity and Diversity—Gather and synthesize information about technologies that have changed the way humans influence the inheritance of desired traits in organisms.

SEE YOUR EMAIL FOR THE REGISTRATION LINK.

Try Quizizz! Quizizz is a fun multiplayer classroom activity, that allows all your students to practice together. Quizizz works on all devices with a browser, including computers, tablets & smartphones. It also has iOS, Android and Chrome apps.You can use what is there or create and share quizzes with your colleagues.

https://www.quizizz.com/

Sandee Donald, Executive Director

Sharee Wells, Director of Secondary Curriculum and Instruction

Heather Allen, K-5 Science Coordinator,hallen704@columbus.k12.oh.us

Jennifer Nord, 6-12 Science Coordinator,jnord5257@columbus.k12.oh.us

Geri Granger, K-12 Spruce Run Coordinator, ggranger9556@columbus.k12.oh.us